The ITB Berlin is preparing for the second ‘real’ edition after corona (5-7 March). The largest travel trade fair in the world made a comeback in March 2023, after a forced three-year break, with a physical trade show and immediately made a U-turn to 100 percent B2B. “It was exciting, especially because it was the first physical ITB again, but our trade visitors were very satisfied,” says Deborah Rothe, director of ITB Berlin since last year. Regular ITB visitors still remember how the March 2020 edition, shortly after the outbreak of corona, was cancelled the Friday prior to the exhibition week. In the three years that followed, the organization did its best with digital editions that were moderately attended. There was great relief when a ‘real’ ITB could be held again in March 2023, with 90,000 trade visitors. Although that was not yet the 113,500 trade visitors of 2019, it was proof that ITB Berlin is a strong brand. For Deborah Rothe, it was her first ITB as a director, although she doesn’t want to label herself as a newcomer. Rothe has been with Messe Berlin for 13 years and has been with ITB for the last 10 years. She worked closely with David Ruetz, who was the face of ITB for 20 years as director. Last year’s ITB was fully B2B for the first time. Why was this chosen? ‘It was a well-considered decision, which we were already working on before corona. We heard from exhibitors and visitors that they needed a pure trade fair. In addition, the number of consumer visitors on weekends had been declining for some time. These were mainly people from the Berlin/Brandenburg region and the interest from exhibitors for that consumer weekend was also declining. That’s why we made last year’s ITB completely B2B, but at the same time kept the number of days to three.’ What is the secret to a good trade show? “My predecessor David Ruetz always talked about the magic of face-to-face meetings. And that’s what it’s all about. A trade fair should inspire, it should be an experience and at the same time you should be able to do business as a visitor, be able to network. You shouldn’t underestimate the personal factor. A fair should not become a festival either. As a visitor, you want to meet people who will help you in business.’ A cliché is that a trade fair is all about experience. What role does ‘experience’ play for trade visitors? “Experience is also important for B2B visitors, because they are also travellers. Every human being is susceptible to emotions and experiences. And an international trade fair like ITB is all about experiencing cultures from all over the world. That’s why there are a lot of networking opportunities and events in the evening.’ What’s new at the ITB this year? ‘We have grown strongly and have five more halls in use this year. With our conference programme, we are responding to major themes such as sustainability, digitisation and the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the travel industry. We have a lot of great speakers, including from Booking.com.’ ITB 2023 had 90,000 trade visitors. What are you counting on this year? ‘It’s too early to say that concretely. We are already seeing greater demand than this time last year. I’m counting on more visitors, but I don’t dare to give an exact figure.’ Photo: Deborah Rothe (Photo Messe Berlin).
